Bruce Bowen

Being called a "dirty player" is probably the biggest insult in sports. To me, it says that these types of players feel that they can't successfully compete with their natural talents/skills, leading them to become frustrated at being outplayed by the opposition, and therefore feel it is necessary to intentionally harm another player in hopes of giving them, or their teams, an edge.

There are plenty of ways to gain an advantage without having to stoop to such lows. Pushing off a defender to create space is something all players do, even though it's technically a foul. My personal favorite is to hold the jersey of the guy I'm guarding to piss him off, or to disrupt his route as he tries to run me off a screen. Trying to injure another player is a deplorable way to gain a slight advantage.

When I think of a "dirty player", the first person that comes to mind is Bruce Bowen. This guy is a fucking prick. Everyone around the league (except those idiotic Spurs fans) knows he plays dirty. What pisses me off even more is that he ALWAYS makes the NBA's All-Defensive Team. He's made the list every year since the 2000-01 season! I wish David Stern would have the balls to do something about players like Bruce, instead of rewarding them.

This year alone Bruce Bowen, and his "foot defense", has caused injury to Steve Francis and Jamal Crawford. In case you don't know, Bowen plays his "foot defense" on jump-shooters by placing his foot right under a player in mid-air so that they land on Bowen's foot, usually resulting in sprained ankles.

You can watch more of his dirty tricks tonight as the Spurs play the Suns in Game 4. Here is a little clip of Bowen trying to injure Amare Stoudemire in Game 2. Keep in mind, Stoudemire is coming off a MAJOR knee injury which caused him to miss the entire season last year. Obviously, that doesn't matter to Bruce.

Vote: Is Bruce Bowen a dirty player?